Grand Canyon University President and CEO Brian Mueller said he believes Arizona State President Michael Crow is leading an effort by Pac-12 CEOs to try to block the school’s move into NCAA Division I athletics.

Mueller said he felt inclined to open up after CBSSports.com reported that Pac-12 CEOs had sent a letter to the NCAA questioning whether a for-profit university should be allowed to compete in Division I athletics.

The NCAA and all Division I schools are not-for-profit, tax-exempt entities.

The private, publicly traded Christian school has been accepted into the Western Athletic Conference and this school year begins the four-year probation period to become eligible for the NCAA Tournament in basketball.

“We have total respect for ASU,” Mueller said. “They do a fantastic job. The person who is causing the problem is Dr. Crow. I don’t know why.”

An ASU official said Crow was out of town and unavailable for comment.

The school issued a statement late Thursday:

“Our concern is how athletics fit within the academic mission of for-profit universities. For-profit colleges are operated as businesses and are not accountable to their faculty or students. Their primary responsibility is to their stockholders.

“ ... We cannot play teams that exist for profit and use their games playing games against to advance their stock prices, as was discussed by Grand Canyon University during a recent telephone call with investors.”

Azcentral sports obtained the Pac-12 letter, dated July 10 and signed by all the schools’ presidents and chancellors, that was sent to Dr. Lou Anna K. Simon, chairperson of the NCAA Executive Committee. In a May 2 meeting of the NCAA Board of Directors, the committee said it would consider granting NCAA Division I membership to for-profit institutions.

Grand Canyon is the first for-profit school to move to Division I.

In the letter it states, “Our major concern is how athletics fit within academic missions of for-profit universities.”

“The Pac-12 believes the academic mission of our 12 universities is paramount above all else,” the letter states. “We stand firmly behind the NCAA’s commitment to integrate athletics into the fabric of higher education and view the success of our student-athletes as the ultimate metric of how well we are doing as a Conference.

“Beyond just being reinforced by philosophy, our not-for-profit status ensures it. The resources generated by our Conference support our universities and our student-athletes first and foremost.”

GCU has been part of the NCAA Division II since 1991. After struggling financially and nearly closing in the early 2000s, Grand Canyon became a for-profit institution, building its online enrollment to roughly 47,000 students today. Mueller said the only way out of financial difficulties was to build a for-profit plan and find an investor.

“Because we have investors, the concern is, ‘Will priorities be in line in regards to academic expenditures?’ ” Mueller said. “We have a ton of information to provide anybody who wants it.”

Mueller said he has not been able to arrange a meeting with Crow.

The on-campus enrollment is a little under 9,000 students with 70 percent of those from Arizona, Mueller said. He said more than 30 percent of the online students are Arizona residents.

After hearing the for-profit topic was going to be on the NCAA agenda, Mueller said GCU contacted NCAA President Mark Emmert.

“He was low-key with that,” Mueller said. “We didn’t take any action with that.”

But after CBSSports.com reported that the Pac-12 letter had been sent to the NCAA, and that the action had originated with ASU, Mueller said he decided to speak out.

Mueller said the NCAA has made no indication that Grand Canyon’s move to Division I will be stopped.

He said the school has met all qualifications for NCAA membership. When the for-profit topic was raised in May, Baker asked the NCAA if it was something to worry about. He said he was told to “keep doing what you need to do and and you shouldn’t be concerned.”

The topic will be discussed in August at NCAA meetings in Indianapolis, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said Thursday.

“You can’t predict the outcome,” Scott said when asked if the NCAA could change its policy regarding for-profit institutions. “There are no for-profit companies using athletics for financial gain.

“It has to be discussed. There are philosophical issues that should be addressed, rather than waking up one day and saying, ‘How did it get this way?’ ”

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